The short version
- Zola agreed on October 14, 2026 to join The Knot Worldwide, The Knot's parent company; the deal still needs regulatory clearance. For a free wedding website and registry outside that company, Joy is the closest match.
- The Knot Worldwide also owns WeddingWire, Hitched in the UK and Ireland, and the leading wedding sites in France, Spain, Italy and Portugal. Across much of Europe, Bridebook is the independent alternative.
- For the vendor search and the planning itself, WedGenie (ours) replaces browsing with a conversation, with a source next to every figure, and it makes AI couple photos, dress try-ons and save-the-date videos in the same account. Free to start, Pro $14.99 a month; photos and videos use credits.
- "Zero-fee" cash funds are free only on some payment methods: a credit-card gift costs 2.5% on Zola and 3.5% on Joy, while Honeyfund charges guests nothing.
The right alternative depends on which part of The Knot you want to replace, and now also on whether you mind who owns it. On October 14, 2026, The Knot Worldwide, the company behind The Knot, announced an agreement for Zola to join it, and it already owns WeddingWire and the biggest wedding sites in much of Europe. For the vendor search and a planner that does more of the work, start with WedGenie (ours) and the other AI-first planners. For a free website and registry outside The Knot's company, Joy. For a free marketplace with tools, Loverly. In Europe, Bridebook. And there is an honest case for not switching at all, at the end.
Disclosure, first: we make WedGenie, one of the products on this page, so read it with that in mind. Everything said about another company comes from its own public pages, terms or press releases, with the source and the read date next to it. We have not used the other products hands-on, so this page compares what each one publishes, not how each one feels.
Who owns what: The Knot, WeddingWire, Zola and the rest
The Knot Worldwide owns The Knot, WeddingWire and Hitched, plus the leading wedding sites in Spain, France, Italy and Portugal, and Zola is set to join them. Its own brands page lists 13 brands "in more than 10 countries": The Knot, WeddingWire, WeddingPro (for vendors), Hitched, Bodas.net, Bodas.mx, Mariages.net, Matrimonio.com, The Bump, The Bash, Simply Eloped, Casamentos.pt and Casamentos.com.br. The company took its name in 2018, when "XO Group merged with WeddingWire", and XO Group was then The Knot's parent. Permira funds own it and list it as a current holding. Sources: theknotww.com/brands and /about-us; Permira's 2018 announcement and portfolio page; read October 23, 2026.
Zola is joining, but has not joined yet. The release announces "a definitive agreement with Zola ... to join its global portfolio of brands", says "The Knot and Zola will continue as distinct consumer brands", and adds that "The agreement is subject to customary closing conditions, including any required regulatory clearances." After closing, the portfolio "will encompass 14 brands across 11 countries". The price was not disclosed. On October 23, 2026, zola.com said nothing about the deal to couples, and its footer still read "© 2026 Zola, Inc." Sources: The Knot Worldwide press release of October 14, 2026, and zola.com; read October 23, 2026.
Zankyou is already part of it. The Knot Worldwide bought the Spain-based Zankyou in February 2023: "The acquisition did not include Zankyou's business in Portugal." Zankyou's UK, Spanish, French, Italian and Mexican sites now redirect to Hitched, Bodas.net, Mariages.net, Matrimonio.com and Bodas.com.mx. Sources: the February 3, 2023 release, The Knot Worldwide's release of March 15, 2023, and the redirects themselves, checked October 23, 2026.
The rest are on their own. Joy (Joy Life, Inc., backed by venture investors), Loverly (Loverly, Inc.), Bridebook (Bridebook Limited, London), Honeyfund (Honeyfund.com, Inc.) and Riley & Grey (Riley & Grey, Inc.) are the companies their own footers and terms name, and none is on The Knot Worldwide's brand list. Stellanza's terms name no company, and it is not on that list either. Minted is not one of its brands either, although Permira funds also hold a minority investment in Minted. WedGenie (ours) is run by Dreamies LLC and has no tie to any of these companies.
Why it matters, and why it may not. If you picked Zola or WeddingWire to keep your wedding away from The Knot, they belong to the same company, or soon will. If you only care how a tool works, neither company has announced a change for couples, and the release says the brands stay separate.
If you want a planner that does more of the work: WedGenie and the AI-first apps
WedGenie (ours) replaces the browsing with a conversation. You tell the Genie about the wedding and it does the narrowing: it searches your city, puts the venues that fit your guest count first, and reads each pick's own website for price and capacity, with the source next to every figure; a fact it cannot verify is labelled instead of guessed, and there are no sponsored placements. The vendors you like go on a shortlist with one tap or one sentence, the Genie drafts the inquiry emails, and a booking lands in the budget and the checklist on your Wedding Board. The same account writes speeches and vows and makes invitations, AI couple photos, dress try-ons and save-the-date videos, and its free tools, including the seating chart maker, run on the page before you make an account. Free tier: 10 messages with no account; a free account adds 20 messages a month, 2 speech drafts a day, 2 photo generations and 1 deep vendor-research report. Paid: $14.99 a month or $99 a year; credit packs from $9.99. It has no registry, no website builder, no RSVP collection and no app in the App Store or Google Play.
ItsaYes gives you a free planning workspace ("$0 always free", with 10 AI credits a month) and an AI design studio for stationery suites and moodboards. Credit packs are one-time: $9, $19 or $39. Source: itsayes.io/pricing, read October 20, 2026.
Losava is a chat-led planner whose standout is vendor outreach: "Vendor emails written, sent from your inbox, and followed up on for you." $29.99 a month or $299.99 a year, with a 7-day free trial; the free AI limit is not published. Source: losava.com and losava.com/pricing, read October 20, 2026.
TheWeddingPlanner.ai has the widest feature list, including a seating chart, an RSVP website with QR codes and a document vault, for "$39.99/month" with a 7-day trial and no free tier mentioned. Source: theweddingplanner.ai, read October 20, 2026.
A fuller comparison of these four and nine more AI apps, with The Knot's own AI included, is on best AI wedding planner apps.
If you want a free website and registry outside The Knot's company: Joy
Joy is the closest independent match for what Zola does for free: a website, a registry, RSVPs and a guest list. Its pricing page says "Joy is free to use" and explains that "we make money when guests purchase items couples add to their registry that Joy sells"; custom domains, text messaging, premium designs and the seating chart cost extra, and it publishes no price for the seating chart. It lists a wedding website ("Beautiful, free and uniquely yours"), a registry with gifts, cash funds and honeymoon experiences, Smart RSVP, a guest list it calls a "free planning hub", hotel room blocks and a free mobile app. Its AI helps with vows and toasts (the Wedding Writer's Block Assistant), and on the paid seating chart "the AI places your entire guest list". Sources: withjoy.com, read September 23, 2026; withjoy.com/pricing and Joy's registry help pages, read October 23, 2026; Joy's seating chart help article, read November 1, 2026.
Zola, before and after the deal. Zola still offers a free wedding website ("our wedding websites are free to create and publish", with custom domains from $17.99), a registry with "zero-fee cash funds", a guest list and RSVPs, a seating chart (sold at $14.99, by its own guide), invitations and paper, vendor search and a mobile app, and it now has an app inside ChatGPT for browsing vendors (details on best AI wedding planner apps). Neither company has announced a change for couples; what changes is the owner, and the deal has not closed: on October 28, WeddingPro told vendors "Zola remains a separate platform", and no timetable has been given. Sources: zola.com/wedding-planning, read September 23, 2026; zola.com's website and cash-gift pages, read October 23, 2026; Zola's guide (updated April 17, 2026) and WeddingPro's vendor FAQ, read November 1, 2026.
Where they win: both are free and do far more than WedGenie on the guest side. WedGenie has no website builder, no registry and no RSVP collection, so if this is what you need, one of these two is the answer, not us.
Stellanza, a smaller independent planner, covers the guest side for free in 14 languages: a guest list, digital invitations with an RSVP link per guest, a drag-and-drop seating chart and a budget, with unlimited guests on the free plan. Premium is a one-time $35 per wedding and adds an AI seating assistant and printable seating posters. Source: stellanza.com and stellanza.com/en/pricing, read November 3, 2026.
What "zero-fee" cash funds actually cost
Cash funds are fee-free on Zola and Joy only when the guest pays a certain way; Honeyfund charges guests nothing. Each row below uses the company's own wording.
| Registry | When a guest pays by credit card | Ways to give with no fee | Getting the money out | Company |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zola | 2.5%, paid by the guest unless you absorb it | Venmo balance, bank or debit card (Venmo itself charges 3% on a credit card) | To your bank, or as Zola store credit with a 5% bonus; Zola says it "makes no money off of cash funds" | Zola, Inc., joining The Knot Worldwide |
| Joy | 3.5% (Stripe), paid by the guest | Venmo, PayPal and Cash App: "no Joy fees" | $1.70 per transfer to your bank or debit card | Joy Life, Inc. |
| Honeyfund | "No fees to guests, ever." | Every way; guests may add an optional "Honeyfund Gives" contribution | Free to its prepaid Mastercard or as gift cards; 2.2% to PayPal or Venmo; 3.5% + $0.59 to a bank | Honeyfund.com, Inc. |
| Riley & Grey | 2.95%, paid by the guest or the couple | None stated | "There is no cost for transferring gifts to your bank account." | Riley & Grey, Inc. (its website costs $39 a month or $299 a year) |
| Amazon | No cash funds: "We do not offer cash funds at this time." | Gift-card funds, with no fees | Spent as an Amazon gift card | Amazon |
A worked example: a $200 gift by credit card costs the guest $5 on Zola, $7 on Joy, $5.90 on Riley & Grey and nothing on Honeyfund. Taking that $200 out costs you $1.70 on Joy (per transfer, however many gifts it holds), and on Honeyfund nothing if you take the prepaid card or gift cards, $4.40 to PayPal or Venmo, or $7.59 to a bank. If guests give through Venmo on Zola or Joy, neither company takes a fee. Sources: zola.com's cash-gift page and FAQ; Joy's registry help pages; honeyfund.com/honeymoon-fund; rileygrey.com/pricing; amazon.com/wedding and its FAQ; all read October 23, 2026.
Zola alternatives, now that it is joining The Knot's company
The closest Zola alternative is Joy, and if cash gifts are the point, Honeyfund. Joy does the free website, registry and RSVPs and sits outside The Knot Worldwide; a guest's card gift costs 3.5% against Zola's 2.5%, and its seating chart is sold at a price it does not publish, against Zola's $14.99. Honeyfund charges guests no fees and gives you a website and RSVPs too. For a design-led website, Riley & Grey costs $39 a month or $299 a year. If Zola was your planning tool more than your registry, WeddingWire's tools are free but belong to the same company, and WedGenie (ours) plans with you by talking and has no website, registry or RSVPs, so it pairs with one of the above. What each costs for a 120-guest wedding is in best wedding planning apps.
If you want the same shape, free: Loverly
The closest like-for-like to The Knot among the independents: a vendor marketplace, free planning tools and a large editorial library in one place. It claims "20+ Free Planning Tools", "25K+ Vetted Vendors" and "350K+ Couples Planning", with a budget tracker, checklist, guest list and RSVPs, vendor manager, vision boards and wedding websites. Its AI, aiSLE Assistant™, files the vendor proposals and receipts you forward it into those tools rather than chatting with you. New in October 2026: digital invitations and a website editor, where "Free covers 50 recipients" and "Loverly Premium is one $129 payment for 24 months". Source: loverly.com, read October 20, 2026.
Where it wins: the planning tools are free, it is narrower in scope than The Knot, and the forward-your-inbox idea takes on real admin, by its own description.
What to know: its vendor pool is a fraction of The Knot's on their own numbers, 25 thousand against nearly 200 thousand, and vendors can pay to "Upgrade to Loverly Preferred". No seating chart is listed.
WeddingWire: the same company as The Knot
WeddingWire is The Knot's sister brand, so switching to it changes the website, not the company. Its about page says "WeddingWire, part of The Knot Worldwide Inc., is a trusted wedding vendor directory", and its homepage invites couples to "Search over 158,000 local professionals with reviews, pricing, availability, and more", with a free wedding website, a checklist, a budget planner, a seating chart and a registry: "Start planning your wedding with us, it's free!" A chat helper called Taylor, "your (totally free) virtual wedding planning assistant", offers to find vendors; its pages do not say whether it is AI. What it costs for a 120-guest wedding, next to Zola and Joy, is in best wedding planning apps. Sources: weddingwire.com and weddingwire.com/corp/about-us, read October 23, 2026; the Taylor chat, read November 1, 2026.
Where it wins: if you simply prefer its layout, it is free and does the same jobs. If you want out of The Knot's company, it is not the way.
If you are planning in Europe
In France, Spain, Italy and Portugal, the wedding site that leads search results is a Knot Worldwide brand; in the UK, Hitched shares the field with the independent Bridebook; in Ireland, Germany and the Netherlands, the leaders are independent. That is WedGenie's read of each country's search results and of the sites' own vendor counts on October 23, 2026: a rough measure, applied the same way in every country.
| Country | The Knot Worldwide's site | Independent sites we found | AI for couples |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | Hitched ("Over 34,000 wedding vendors") | Bridebook; Guides for Brides | Bridebook's AI venue search, in its app and in ChatGPT (UK venues) |
| Ireland | hitched.ie | weddingsonline.ie ("Almost 1,000" suppliers, "Over 94,000 reviews"); Bridebook | None found |
| France | Mariages.net ("Plus de 83.000 prestataires") | Bridebook (6,183 venues listed in France); MilleMercisMariage, a gift list and website | None found |
| Spain | Bodas.net ("más de 66.000 proveedores") | Only small newcomers (one company was registered in May 2026) | None found on Bodas.net |
| Italy | Matrimonio.com ("Più di 88.000 fornitori") | LeMieNozze.it | None found |
| Portugal | Casamentos.pt ("mais de 19.000 fornecedores") | Zankyou Portugal, a directory with a free advice service | None found |
| Germany | None | Bridebook (10,835 venues listed in Germany); WeddyPlace; Hochzeitsportal24 | None found |
| Netherlands | None | ThePerfectWedding.nl ("meer dan 16.000 bedrijven") | An AI dress try-on in its app: the first try is free, then from €1.49 |
The four Knot Worldwide sites on the continent are run by one Barcelona company, Wedding Planner, S.L.U., whose privacy notices name "The Knot Worldwide Inc." as the parent; each offers free planning tools and a free wedding website. Sources: each site's homepage, legal notice and privacy notice, read October 23, 2026.
Bridebook is the independent choice across much of Europe. It is free for couples ("Using Bridebook won't cost you a penny!") and says it is "live all around the world - we're in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia, Poland, Canada and more". Its AI venue search "is currently available for UK venue searches", and its app inside ChatGPT covers UK venues too. Sources: bridebook.com/uk and /uk/about-us; support.bridebook.com; read October 23, 2026.
Marrying abroad: The Studio. For couples marrying away from home in France, Italy or Switzerland, The Studio pairs an AI planner, Annette, which "writes to vendors in French, Italian or Spanish", with human planners; plans start at $49 a month. Source: thestudio.wedding, read October 23, 2026.
WedGenie in Europe. Our browsable vendor directory is US-only. The Genie searches any city live, but it was built around US weddings first, so Bridebook or the national sites above will know more local vendors.
What you would be leaving, and the honest case for staying
The Knot's strength is its marketplace: its own February 2026 release counts "nearly 200,000 U.S. vendors" (its brand page now says more than 200,000) and "more than 14.6 million" reviews, now also reachable from inside ChatGPT by typing "@The Knot". Its September 2025 release adds AI features to its iOS planner app, including "Make it Yours", which recommends local vendors from inspiration photos you pick. Sources: The Knot Worldwide press releases of 2026-02-03 and 2025-09-25, read September 23, 2026.
Whether that size matters depends on how you choose. We think it is overrated: a list of 200,000 leaves the narrowing and checking to the couple, and what a couple needs is five vendors that fit, checked recently, with the source attached. That is the job WedGenie was built for, and our longer case is on best AI wedding planner apps.
If what you need is the largest pool of reviewed vendors in the US, a free website and a free registry in one account, The Knot already does that, and none of the alternatives matches its scale. Plenty of couples use it for the marketplace and something else for the planning. The tools are not exclusive: a registry on Joy, a vendor search on The Knot and a planner that remembers your decisions can all point at the same wedding.
How to choose in five minutes
- Write down the one job you most want off your plate: the whole plan, the vendor search, the website, the registry, the emails, or the paper.
- Decide whether it matters to you who owns the tool. If it does, read the last column of the table at the top.
- Pick the row that names your job.
- Use its free tier first. Every product here has one or a trial.
- Check what the free tier stops at, in numbers, before you put your guest list into it.
Questions couples ask
Is Zola owned by The Knot?
Not yet. On October 14, 2026, The Knot Worldwide, The Knot's parent company, announced a definitive agreement for Zola to join it. The deal still needs regulatory clearance and had not closed when we checked on October 23, 2026; both brands are to stay separate.
Is WeddingWire the same as The Knot?
Same company, different site. WeddingWire's own about page calls it "part of The Knot Worldwide Inc.", the company formed when The Knot's parent and WeddingWire merged in 2018.
What is the best free alternative to The Knot?
For a website and registry, Joy, which says "Joy is free to use" and is independent. For free planning tools with a marketplace, Loverly. For planning by conversation with sourced vendor picks, WedGenie's free tier: 10 messages with no account and 20 a month with a free one.
What is the best alternative to The Knot in Europe?
Bridebook, which is free, independent and live in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany and more. In France, Spain, Italy and Portugal the biggest national wedding sites belong to The Knot Worldwide; in Germany and the Netherlands it runs none.
Are Zola's and Joy's cash funds really fee-free?
Only for some payment methods. A credit-card gift costs the guest 2.5% on Zola and 3.5% on Joy, and Joy charges $1.70 per transfer out. Gifts from a Venmo balance, bank or debit card on Zola, or through Venmo, PayPal or Cash App on Joy, carry no fee from either company.
What changed since September 23, 2026
- Added on November 1, 2026: a section on Zola alternatives.
- Corrected on November 1, 2026: Zola's seating chart is $14.99 and Joy's is paid, with no published price; we had both as free. Joy's AI also seats guests. The Zola deal has not closed.
- Added: who owns which wedding site (diagram and list), WeddingWire, Honeyfund, a cash-fund fee table, and Europe country by country.
- Changed: Zola is no longer listed as an independent alternative: on October 14, 2026 it agreed to join The Knot Worldwide. Joy is now the independent pick for a website and registry. Loverly added invitations and a website editor with a paid Premium ($129 for 24 months). Bridebook's AI venue search and its app in ChatGPT cover UK venues only.
- Unchanged: ItsaYes's, Losava's and TheWeddingPlanner.ai's prices (re-read October 20, 2026) and The Knot's marketplace figures from its February 2026 release.
How this page was made
The Knot Worldwide's own brand pages and press releases, and the public pages of every other company named here across the US and eight European countries, read on October 23, 2026 (the AI planners and Loverly on October 20, 2026); public pages and press releases only, no accounts. Ownership comes from each site's footer, terms, legal notice or privacy notice. Where a site names no parent company, we say only that it is not on The Knot Worldwide's brand list rather than guess. For Europe, we judged which site leads from where it appears in search results and from its own vendor count, which is a rough measure. We have not used these products hands-on. Prices and owners change: where a figure here is out of date, the company's own page is right, and we correct ours at the next review, in January 2027, or sooner if the Zola deal closes.